Camaraderie is just as important in athletics as competition, says Donald Webster, 64, of Atlanta, who is a runner and cyclist. Webster is a member of the South Fulton Race Club, Metro Atlanta Cycling Club, and the Black Men Run. He says his teammates hold him accountable.
“If I miss a few runs, it’s ‘Hey, where’s Don?'” He says. “No question, that has kept me constant over the years – the people.”
Webster competes in 5k, 10k duathlons and the occasional half marathon. He even did a couple of marathons. Last year, when the races were sidelined by COVID-19, Webster decided to take part in a “virtual street race” where people ran and entered their times online.
“It’s just not the same,” says Webster. “People run on different terrain, on different routes … I’m looking forward to the time after COVID to get out with the crowds.”
He’s already signed up for the 52nd annual Peachtree Road Race, which takes place July 3rd and 4th through Atlanta. He describes himself as an “age grouper”, which means that he competes against people of the same age. This December, Webster turns 65, placing him in the 65-69 group. “I will be one of the youngest in this age group, I can look forward to that,” he says.
Exercise later in life
You don’t have to have had a long sporting career to benefit from a bit of competition. Bill Cordes, 75, of St. Cloud, Fla., Is a late bloomer who recently took third place in the US Tennis Association 50-and-over 3.0 division in the National Singles Championship. Cordes only started playing tennis in 2018. Until then he was an avid spectator, attended tournaments and followed his favorites like Roger Federer.
Then he heard that the USTA was planning to build a world-class national tennis facility in Orlando. The 64-hectare facility includes a player development area for professional athletes, including those taking part in Grand Slams.
Unimpressed by his age and inexperience – he occasionally played on the weekends but never competed – Cordes persuaded his wife to move almost four hours north to be near campus “so I could play every day could, ”he says.
Cordes, a U.S. Army veteran, signed up for a USTA military program that provided free classes to military personnel, took classes, and began competing. His tennis career flourished.
